The number of vehicles stolen in England and Wales has increased by a shocking 30%

The number of vehicles stolen in England and Wales has increased by a shocking 30% in just three years, according to data seen by RAC Insurance*.

A freedom of information request showed that a total of 65,783 vehicles were reported stolen in 2013 to 40 police forces in England and Wales, but by 2016 this had risen to 85,688**.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, more vehicles are stolen in London than anywhere else in the UK with 26,496 thefts being reported to the Metropolitan Police Force in 2016 – this equates to nearly a third of all vehicles stolen (31%). Similar to the national trend, this represented a 29% increase on 2013 when 20,565 were stolen.

Outside London, the region with the highest reported number of vehicles stolen is the West Midlands with West Midlands Police reporting 5,930 thefts, a 43% increase on 2013 (4,161) and a 33% on 2015 (4,474), closely followed by West Yorkshire Police with 5,597 which recorded a 57% rise when compared to the 2013 figures.

Third spot outside of London in the vehicle theft table is the Greater Manchester police force which saw 4,999 stolen vehicles in 2016. Fourth was Essex on 3,623 and Thames Valley Police was fifth with 2,799.